Chapter 29
Sophie was sitting on the dock enjoying the sun on her skin, this place was really beautiful. She knew she would be perfectly content staying here for the rest of her life; the only problem was that wasn’t reality, soon she and Ethan would have to leave and go back to his home. That freaked her out, she didn’t know what to expect with the Alpha Team. From the stories Ethan had told her, they were all very close and Sophie was a loner. Well, except for her sister.
They had spent almost a week here already, and Sophie was trying to come up with ways to make it longer. Ethan didn’t seem to be in any hurry, but she knew he had work to do, too much was a stake. She could feel his footsteps on the dock before she felt his heat at her back. They had done this every single day. She would come out to the dock, and shortly after she sat down, Ethan would come and join her, wrapping her in his arms and they would talk.
He told her all about his childhood, his hopes and dreams for the future, and she did the same. It all seemed unreal that they matched so perfectly, well, except for his snoring. The man was like a freight train every single night; that thought made her laugh. She even loved that about him because it marred his perfection just a tiny bit making him more human. But she still had her reservations about this mating stuff, things like this didn’t happen in real life. She could feel her love for this man in every fiber of her being, but wasn’t this connection, all these feelings happening too quickly?
She felt his weight at her back, and when his arms came around her waist, she tilted her head back for the kiss she knew would come next. Ethan didn’t disappoint her, this kiss was soft and sweet and nothing like the passion-filled kisses he had given her before, but she cherished it just a little more.
“What are you thinking about today love?”
“Not much,” Sophie said and then laughed when he raised his eyebrow. “Okay not much, but everything.”
“Hmm, sounds like a heavy load. How about we start with the not much and then move on to the everything?” Yep that was Ethan, wanting to take the weight of all her worries.
“Ethan, do you ever question this bond our mating? I mean everything has happened so quickly, I’m so in love with you that it scares me sometimes. I always believed that love would grow over time, but with us, it just happened. I knew from almost the first time I saw you that you were important to me, and I can’t help but question that, do you know what I mean?”
“In a way, yes and in a way no. In our culture, we were raised with stories and tales of meeting our true mates. I’ve watched it happen with my teammates, and I knew that if I was ever lucky enough, it would be the same for me. You, my sweet girl, only have human guidelines to go by, so I can see where this would be a bit unsettling. Do you regret it?”
“Oh, Ethan, never. I love how I feel about you, but, come on, we barely know each other, and we are essentially married in your world. What happens if you find out something about me you hate or I do something that annoys the hell out of you, like leave my dirty socks on the floor. I mean the fates didn’t really give you a choice, they put me in your path and wham-o, happy mating. You had to have thought about this at some time.”
“Yeah,” Ethan laughed, “I did, but my thoughts never once went to dirty socks.” Ethan tickled her side. She loved the playful side of him, it was coming out more and more.
“Listen, babe, all I can ask is that you take this day by day, just like anything else in life. I know what the legends and stories say, but I can’t make any guarantees for the future. I wish I could, but we have already learned not everything happens the way it’s supposed to in life. I want to believe that our feelings and connection will grow stronger over time, and I do, but we don’t live in a fairy tale or a romance novel, we live in the real world. What I can tell you is that right now, at this very moment, I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. I want the future we talked about, marriage, kids, the whole shebang, but I’m willing to wait until you’re ready. Like I said, day by day.”
“It’s not that I’m not ready. I just, hell Ethan, my life hasn’t been my own for the past six years and even before that. Carley and I had to work to help our mom out financially. I think when I was about twelve, I started baby sitting and handing over my earnings. As we got older and things became even more expensive, we had to work even harder, getting waitressing jobs or cleaning houses. In school, we had to push every boundary because there was no way my mom could have afforded to send one of us let alone the two of us to college.
“I learned early to question everything and everybody. My mom was a great person, she loved us, never treated us badly, but Dr. Franklin was like her cult leader or something. After my Dad died, she changed and Franklin’s influence on her only grew stronger. I knew, even back then, that something was wrong with all the testing he was doing on me and Carley, but I kept my mouth shut.”
“We haven’t talked about any of this, I know some from the information that Peyton and Wyatt were able to pull up. What did he do with you and your sister?”
“Not a lot, it was mainly blood draws and measurements. Ethan, he was our main doctor, we hadn’t even seen another one until after we went to college and saw a gynecologist for the first time. He was the one who gave us our inoculations for school. He provided all our medical care. There were a couple of times he wanted us to take certain medicines, but Carley had a bad reaction, and we both refused after that. By then, we were older, and he started to back off a bit. I think if mom hadn’t of gotten sick he would have pushed harder.”
“So, he was treating your mom too?”
“I don’t really know, I think so, but we were never with her if she went to see him by herself and she never said anything. Every time we went to his offices, it was for Carley and me. But I overheard them talking a couple of times, and he would say she didn’t need to go to another doctor. I even saw him giving her a prescription bottle a few times. When she didn’t get any better, we begged her to go to another doctor, but Franklin had convinced her she didn’t need to go.
“You know what really pisses me off about all that?”
“What?”
“Mom always had an excuse for him. I could remember one time asking her why we didn’t go to a pediatrician, and she blew it off saying, why mess with a good thing. Maybe if she hadn’t been so loyal to him, she would still be with us today.”
“Sophie, no one can know that, but if you want, I can have Wyatt and Peyton look into your mother’s medical records. Maybe we can find something which will help you and your sister understand better.”
“Maybe, I don’t know right now, I think I need to focus on Carley and her baby.”
“Babe, I’m so sorry either of you had to go through any of that, and I promise you that Alpha and NAC will be looking into your sister’s baby, we will find him.”
“I know you will,” Sophie brought her hand up and caressed the back of Ethan’s neck. “I don’t doubt that for a minute. Like I said, you’re almost too good to be true, Ethan Lord.”
“That’s me, love,” Ethan nuzzled her neck, “one amazing man for one amazing woman.”
Sophie was done with the heavy stuff, she wanted light.
“You know the saying when something seems to be too good to be true it usually is? That’s been the tenant of my life so far, and you, Ethan, are way too good to be true.” Sophie leaned back and kissed his cheek, but couldn’t resist saying one more thing, “Even though you snore like nobody’s business.”
“Babe, I don’t snore.”
“Ah, yeah you do, like really loudly.”
Ethan started to tickle her, but this time he wasn’t letting up. Sophie squirmed and moved until she was laying on her back with Ethan’s face looming over her.
“Pet, do we have to go over the rules of lying again?”
“Nope,” Sophie said, popping the ‘p’ for effect, “because the only one lying right now is you, Sir. You snore so loud, the dogs on the other side of the lake can he
ar you at night. If you didn’t wear me out so well before you finally fall asleep, I don’t think I would have gotten a wink of sleep the last couple of days,” Sophie giggled.
“Hmm, wearing you out seems like a good idea right about now. Why don’t we give those mangy mutts something else to howl about, like when screaming my name out for everyone to hear?”
“I liked the sound of that Sir,” Sophie smiled, “please and thank you.”
“Cheeky little thing,” Ethan said tweaking her nose. “I’ll give you that and much more, but Sophie we need to talk about something else. I want to take you home.”
“Ethan, don’t you know I’m already home, right here with you. A home isn’t a place with four walls, it’s here,” Sophie said placing her hand over his heart, “with you.”
Chapter 30
Matthias was sitting in his living room enjoying a stiff drink; the past week, hell, the past few months had been a total cluster fuck. He knew he was being watched, but decided to ignore the ass hiding in the corner. Fuck, he deserved it, but after a while, he just wanted him gone.
“You can come out now, Declan, this little game you’re playing is getting old.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Matthias,” Declan said as he walked out. Damn the man looked bad, he had lost weight, there were circles under his eyes, and Matthias was pretty sure his scales were showing. Something a dragon shifter never let happen. things were getting worse, and Matthias knew what he needed to do, hell, he had all along.
“I think it’s quite fun to watch you squirm a bit,” Declan, continued talking to him like old times, “kind of like pay back for all them times you did it to me.”
“I don’t have the time or the patience to deal with this crap right now, Declan. Say what you have to say and leave.”
“Interesting choice of words, Matthias; time and patience are two things you seem to have completely forgotten about. What happened to our plan? Why did you go after Tobias by yourself when you knew you were powerless to do anything against him? We could have ended this, but you decided to keep secrets once again. How did that work out?”
“Fuck you, Declan, I needed to see for myself if it was true.”
“Well, congratulations, you certainly found that out, didn’t you? Tell me, how did it feel to be helpless and under his power, once again?” Declan walked over to Matthias’ bar like he owned the place and poured himself a drink. When he came back, he sat right in front of Matthias, raising his eyebrow waiting for him to talk. Matthias wasn’t going to, he didn’t need to give Declan an explanation for his failure, they both knew it and needed to move on.
“You have lost the trust of Alpha Team, that shit will seep through the teams until none of them will trust you. Tell me how that helps our situation?”
“It won’t, and to tell you the truth, I don’t give a fuck. I never wanted anything to do with the teams that was always your baby. I was much happier dealing with the Clans, much less contact.”
“Contact? You say you don’t want contact, and yet, you went to Alpha and confronted them, going to the women and children before announcing yourself, pissing them off. Then you made your way to Michigan and inserted yourself into Ethan’s mission. I know why you did it, you wanted Tobias, but answer this, why did you take the girl and put her with Kiera?”
“Carley. No reason, she needed help, so I gave it to her.”
“You under estimate me, Matthias, I know that wasn’t the reason. Is she yours?”
“No, she is not. You know my mate died; we don’t get a second chance at that shit. Colleen has been gone for years, but fuck man, Carley, Sophie’s sister, looks just like her. I think she my son’s mate. I couldn’t let her go.”
“What about the baby, what are you going to do about that?”
“I see Jacks has been talking.”
“He shouldn’t have had to, you should have told me as soon as you suspected something about the girl.”
“I will find the child, and I will protect him, raise him if I have to or place him somewhere he will be safe.”
“You won’t give him back to his mother?”
“No, the child will complicate her mating with my son. He needs to stay gone.”
“Why is that your decision to make? Others have coped with mates having children why would your son be different? I don’t think Mi…”
“Stop, do not say his name. he won’t accept the child because the child is my son, his brother, he will sense it.”
“You can’t know that Matthias, you are only making assumptions.”
“I do know that, I smelled the child on her, he was mine. Tobias has our seed, yours and mine. He stole it from Dr. Alexander years ago; we both knew that this was a possibility. Well,” Matthias said, raising his glass like he was going to toast, “congratulations, you might be next. Maybe you can anchor yourself to the next kid. You look like shit, by the way.”
“Why thank you,” Declan said, tipping his glass, “I could say the same to you. Let’s cut the bullshit; tell me what you’ve planned why you are making yourself the piranha of our kind.”
“Declan, I always have been, that shit isn’t going to change, but for now, I’m done with the teams. I’m tracking Tobias and the child full time. Go back to your cushy office and wait for my call. I won’t make the same mistake this time you have my word.”
CASH
Alpha Team
NAC & The Holly Group
Author: Chelsea Handcock
www.chelseahandcock.com
Copyright © 2018, Chelsea Handcock
First electronic publication: April 30, 2018
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted works is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.
Note from the Author:
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to person, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third party websites or their content.
Published in the United States of America.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted works is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.
Note from the Author:
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to person, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third party websites or their content.
Published in the United States of America.
Betrayed, hurt and abandoned Cash Warren must now find his own way. He cannot trust the people he held close. They lied to him. Kept secrets that caused him grief and pain. Everything he believed was an illusion. Everything he felt was a fantasy.
But now they want something from him. Expect things of him that he has no intention of giving them. But one thing he will do is find her. She is the key to everything, the past, present and future.
She is running now but that will not stop him. He will find her and when he does watch out.
Chapter One
Cash Warren woke up with his lungs scream
ing for air. His mind was unable to process what his eyes were seeing. Bubbles floated around him, the lack of light and air severely affecting his brain. He watched, almost amused, as the bubbles surrounded him and wondered where they were coming from, not realizing they were coming from his own mouth and nose. A momentary calm enveloped him, and he thought if he was going to die, this wasn’t that bad of a way to go. He knew his life would come to this moment, eventually, but he always thought it would be marred by pain and craziness. This was peaceful, almost euphoric.
Cash felt a bump on his back, then his leg, throwing his body into a tailspin, wiping any bit of calm and peace right from him. His body started flailing around, out of control, going deeper, spinning so fast, he had to shut his eyes. His fight or flight instinct kicked in as Cash struggled to make something happen, but he was paralyzed within his own skin, unable to move an inch. His head hit something, the impact jarring him, but the pain he thought he would feel never came. The questions coursing through him causing him to fight harder, no longer accepting what fate might have in store for him. This was his damn life, and he would live it or end it the way he wanted. Fate could go fuck itself. His body was being hit and pushed. Cash tried to fight back but couldn’t, further adding to his frustration and desperation. Then his side smacked into something hard, turning him over in the water, righting him to the brisk fresh air. As he gasped for the air he so desperately needed, Cash tried to pull himself together and lessen the anger and fear coursing through him.
Opening his eyes, Cash welcomed the sting of the water, at least he was feeling something. If he was going to die, he would do it with his eyes wide open and fight with everything he had. No way was he just to accept this shit. He had people who needed him, things he wanted to do before the inevitable happened. Leaning on the long-learned traits of his kind and his military training, his mind slowly started to come online.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 125